Save Me
by 6jrz422
Summary: AU She had been wrong. She had made a mistake so long ago. She should have listened. How much more can that single mistake cost her?
1. Prologue

**Updated: 2010.01.03, 2010.01.10 (edited the chapter, nothing changed besides word order and sentence structure)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own enough for you to sue me.**

**AN. Just an idea I came up with while I'm writing my much longer fic, also of the FFX universe. Not really sure how long this one will be as it's unplanned unlike my other fic. Other fic is currently 100,000 words in 14 chapters with over 52 chapters outlined. Kinda hit a rut in chapter 15 at the moment hence why this thing came out.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think and if I should bother continuing it.**

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**Prologue**

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She ran through the deserted streets. She clutched the little bundle of blue blankets in her arms tightly. She glanced at the gathering storm clouds in the pitch-black sky as she hurried on.

She could only pray that her friend was still her friend, after all these longs years, after that argument. She had been wrong, oh so wrong. Her friend had been right, perfectly right. Now, she was paying for her mistake, she was begging for her friend's help again. She was praying she was still her friend. She didn't have anyone else.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she reached her destination. She huddled under the little shelter the house provided. The whistling wind blew daggers through her body. She should have planned this better.

She pressed the doorbell, praying her friend was home, praying her friend was still awake. It was long past midnight. She shivered as another gust of wind blew through her body. The cold pavement offered little respite for her bare feet.

The rain started. It started fast. It started hard. In moments she was drenched. Her nightgown clung to her body, instantly soaked throughout in the first few seconds of the storm. She shivered. She tried to shield her blue bundle from the rain with her body. Let her suffer her sins, not her blue bundle, not her blue bundle that was fated to live a life of detest, of hatred, of persecution.

She pressed the doorbell again. Why had she chosen to do this now? Now, in the chilling night air, now in the rain drenched night, now in the eerie silence.

She glanced down at her blue bundle. She wasn't doing a good enough job shielding it from the rain. It was getting wet. She rang the doorbell another time, praying help would come as she sank to the cold pavement below, her exposed bottom coming in contact with the wet floor. It was cold on contact. Oh so cold. But she couldn't remember feeling anything but cold; cold and bloody.

She wiped a hand across her face to find that her lip had stopped bleeding. She felt the side of her head and winced from the pain, her entire left side of her face would be a massive bruise in the morning.

If she survived to the morning.

She admitted she was desperate. She knew she was desperate the moment she ran. She knew she was desperate the moment her friend warned her so many years ago.

She was willing to do anything. Nothing could be worse than her life had been since that mistake.

She could feel her body slowly slipping away. She knew her only regret, no, not her only regret, but her main regret, her main regret was that she failed her blue bundle.

She thought he loved her. She thought wrong. She thought he would never hurt her; that was probably her biggest mistake. She felt between her thighs. The sticky liquid was still slowly seeping out. It was mixing with her blood. He had torn her open again, like last night, and every night before that.

A light turned on.

She didn't dare to get her hopes up. Even if her friend was awake, what were the chances she would be forgiven? What were the chances she wouldn't be turned away like any other homeless beggar? What were the chances her friend would even recognize her?

She didn't look anything like she had all those many years ago. Her hair was matted to her back. Her nightgown was soaked to her body, and see-through now. She had no pride to keep, every part of her body was exposed, every bruise, every scar.

She thought a bit as she heard the door unlocking. It was alright now. She could die. She couldn't even feel the freezing temperatures of the night anymore. Her nightgown wasn't soaked to her body anymore; it was frozen solid to it. Her hair was frozen to her head, and every part of her body was numb with cold.

She smiled her first smile in so many years at a thought. She hoped her friend could push her frozen body into the street to get smashed to smithereens. She'd hate to think she ran all this way to wake her friend in the middle of the night, during a terrible storm, only to have to unblock her door from a frozen beggar on her doormat.

The door opened. Two pairs of eyes meet. Her friend instantly recognized her. The question was: was she still her friend?

Brown eyes widened in surprise and sympathy as they gazed upon the blue and green eyes of the girl nearly frozen to death on her doorstep.

"Yuna!"


	2. Anything

**Updated: 2010.01.10**

**Disclaimer: I don't own enough for you to sue me.**

**AN. Prologue was edited. Mainly sentence structure and some word orders. That's what you get for spitting it out in 30 minutes at 1am. Just an FYI, I don't do the whole beta reader thing, if you find errors feel free to post them in reviews, pms, or emails.**

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**Anything**

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The girl sat stock still in the bathtub. It hurt. Everything hurt. She sat in the porcelain white tub with her knees tucked beneath her chin, arms wrapped around them, her bottom hurt. The warm water quickly filling the tub around her provided a stark contrast to her frozen limbs, her limbs hurt. She stared straight ahead at the water pouring out of the pure white faucet wondering if her friend would take care of her blue bundle or come to the same conclusion everyone else came to, her heart hurt.

The bathroom door opened and someone entered. The girl would have turned her bi-colored eyes to see who would get to see her sitting naked in the bathtub, if her neck wasn't frozen in place.

"Yuna, has the tub filled yet?"

Yuna couldn't answer; her throat was frozen, frozen or desert-dry. Yuna hoped her friend wasn't offended by her silence. Ever since her friend recognized her frozen body at the doorstep, Yuna had been questioned constantly.

All the questions were met with silence.

Yuna couldn't speak and couldn't move her head. All she could do was pray. Pray and thank Yevon her friend seemed hospitable, that her friend was still as kind hearted as ever. Her friend could have easily turned her away. Simply closing the front door and returning to bed would have left Yuna and her blue bundle absolutely no chance of survival. It wouldn't matter, come morning Yuna would be little more than a solid block of ice, no one would have been able to recognize her as a human being left at the mercy of the elements.

Yuna heard her friend sigh. She could faintly hear her friend's soft nightwear rustle behind her. Out of her peripheral vision she noticed a bare, pale arm of unmarred perfection reach across to turn off the bathtub. It was necessary, the tub was full and Yuna, from her chest down, was slowly thawing out.

She heard her friend sigh again before more soft rustling of clothing. Her friend moved into her field of vision.

Her friend had changed a lot, of course so had Yuna, but where Yuna was sure she changed for the worse, her friend had changed for the better. Her friend was gorgeous. Her friend was a woman now, no longer the adolescent but a full-grown female. Of course Yuna was also a full-grown woman now, but in her mind, that was where the similarities ended.

Years ago, the two had been the most sought after girls in school. Years ago, her friend had made the right choices. Years ago, Yuna had made the wrong choice, the choice that landed her in hell, the choice that brought her to now.

Yuna noticed her friend give off a small smile when she noticed Yuna glancing over her figure. A white midriff-baring spaghetti strap tank top and purple silk pajama pants showed off her friend's perfect figure. A figure Yuna used to have. A figure Yuna could have had.

Yuna tried to smile when she noticed her friend's expensive clothing. She was glad her friend was living well. She was glad her friend wasn't living like her.

Her friend noticed Yuna's attempts to move her lips. They were still blue and frozen despite the steam filling the room from her bath. Her friend quickly knelt down by the side of the tub, cupped her hands together, and began scooping warm water over Yuna's head to help thaw the rest of her out.

Yuna sat there. She couldn't move. She couldn't talk. She couldn't turn. All she could do was listen as her friend talked while she poured warm water over her head. Yuna was glad she wasn't reprimanding her.

"After I get you all warmed up you have to tell me what's been going on in your life! You have no idea how many nights I've stayed up wondering what you were doing at that very moment! In fact, when the doorbell rang I swear I was having a dream about how you and I used to always play hide and seek at your house when we were five! Good thing you rang twice, when I woke up I thought it was my imagination…"

Her friend continued reminiscing. Each statement triggered memories within Yuna, memories of her past, of her happy past, memories with her best friend, her only friend now. Each memory gave Yuna reason to try moving her lips again, to try smiling again. Yevon, she missed these conversations. Yevon, she missed hearing her friend's voice. It was somehow soothing yet cheerful, calm yet passionate, all at the same time, all the time.

"I'm sure you have just as many questions for me as I have for you so if you're not too tired once I get you moving again then I'd love to have one of our old girl's nights to swap stories…"

Yuna's lips twitched. She almost smiled. It wouldn't be long now before she could cry out her thanks to her friend.

"Well, since it looks like you're almost up and running again, I guess I'll tell you a bit about what I've been doing, you just have to promise me to tell me everything about yourself once I'm done okay?"

Yuna couldn't turn her head to watch her friend's expression but she could hear her laugh out loud.

"Well of course you'll tell me, we never kept secrets from each other before! Anyway, I've been dying to tell someone this…"

For the first time, Yuna was glad she couldn't talk. She was glad she couldn't interrupt her friend by demanding she get on with it, which would result in simply prolonging the wait. Whatever her friend had to say had piqued Yuna's interest just like it did so many years ago. Yuna couldn't help but wonder; why did she turn her back on her friend, for HIM? Why did she think HE was more important than her best friend?

"You see, last year I met someone in the music industry. He helped me record a CD and marketed it for me. It was really a lot of work, and he apologized constantly since we were using his equipment, which isn't as good as a recording studio, but it was really the only way for me to be heard..."

Although Yuna's limbs couldn't move, her mind was moving double time. Thoughts of what her friend's big secret could be. Was it about the guy she met? Was it about the CD she recorded? Was it about the hard work she put in? Was she heard?

"Anyway, so he helped me a great deal. In only a few weeks, he was able to get it on the record store's shelves and a week later it was the fifth best selling CD of the week! Can you imagine that? My first album was making a splash!"

Yuna's lips hurt. She had tried to smile, tried to squeal in joy for her friend's success. Yuna couldn't imagine what her life would have been like if she had listened to her friend, listened to her in the same way she was listening to her now, with all her heart.

"Anyway, as exciting as that was, things just kept getting bigger; several recording studios became interested in recording my next CD. I was honestly lost in the business world so the guy who helped me record the first one helped me pick a recording studio to do my second one with. He's now my manager, but he still goes around looking for new talent to help get into the industry like how he helped me…"

If Yuna could have squealed, she would have. Singing had always been her friend's passion. Singing was worth more than breathing to her friend. Singing would explain her expensive clothes.

"Anyway, that wasn't actually what I've been wanting to tell someone, I mean, lots of people know about that now…"

Yuna turned her head to look at her friend, her neck had been thawed, her lips should follow suit soon. Her friend's brown eyes weren't really looking at her. They were sparkling. They were lost in space. They were dreamy.

"But, what I wanted to tell you, was that, I…"

Her friend stuttered for the first time all night. Her perfect voice halted; then picked up again.

"I think I love him."

Yuna did squeal this time. Her lips were thawed. Her throat was thawed. She could talk again.

"Oh my Yevon! That's amazing Lenne! What's his name? Is he hot?"

Lenne's soft brown eyes snapped out of their daze upon hearing Yuna's voice for the first time all night.

"You can talk! Yuna, you can really talk!"

Yuna smiled her first real smile in many years. Yuna nodded.

"Yes, I can talk, I can nod too, but you aren't getting out of it that easily, what's his name? What does he look like? When can I meet him?"

Lenne laughed. It was like old times. It was like they never parted.

"His name is Shuyin, everything about him is to die for, and you can meet him tomorrow."


	3. Reconnect

**Updated: 2010.01.22**

**Disclaimer: I don't own enough for you to sue me.**

**AN. Couple comments, first, I know the chapters are short, they're supposed to just be a single scene and pretty much a single conversation. I could end up making longer chapters, I do have some stories I've started on my computer that are in the 7-8k words per chapter range, but this one was supposed to be my relief story, short chapters to just write up on the fly.**

**Secondly, many people commented about having tons of questions, I'm actually very interested to know what questions are being brought up in your minds. I know some questions that I'm purposely putting in, and would like to know whether I'm actually being discreet enough, or if everyone already knows the answers, hell I want to know if the chapters are even begging the same questions for you as for me, because, as the author, I know the answer to every question I've thought up, and it's quite easy to let slip information. Of course, as the author I might assume something isn't a question but a known fact that really isn't and I'd like to clear it up… in the story as I don't really like answering questions in the AN.**

**Anyway, one question that keeps getting brought up in reviews is answered, partially. This one wasn't the question I was hitting at though, this is a relatively minor question, but it'll play a large role in the story, I think anyway.**

**Lastly, I'm not sure what yuna-sickle means but if you mean, harsh on Yuna… You have no idea what happens to her in some of my other stories.**

**On a lighter note… Next scene ahead. And be sure to give me some questions to contemplate over, and if you want, your guess at what the answer to your own question is. (If you really want you can even tell me what made you come to that conclusion and/or what brought up the question.)**

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**Reconnect**

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As the girl sat down her blue and green eyes nervously glanced over the dinning room. It was as she remembered it, a plain table in the middle with pictures covering every square inch of wall space except for the three doors, one to the kitchen, one to the hallway, and one to a bathroom.

It was nice to know some things hadn't changed. It was like a way for the girl to get caught up with the life she should have had, if she hadn't been so stupid.

Upon closer inspection though, the brunette noticed the pictures had changed. No longer were they of her friend and her parents, but of her friend and a reoccurring boy. The boy was in almost as many pictures as her friend's parents were now.

The door from the kitchen opened as her friend smiled at her across the table. Her friend's long brown hair was tied in a bun to keep it from distracting the blue bundle in her arms. The girl's blue bundle.

Her friend walked around the old wooden table to where the girl sat, she was dressed now. Her friend lent her some clothes, expensive silk pajamas, as they both planned to go to sleep after a quick conversation.

Her friend leaned over and handed the girl's blue bundle to her, along with a warm bottle. The girl smiled but put the baby blue bottle on the table and began undoing her top instead.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Yuna." Her friend warned.

Yuna looked up, blue and green eyes met soft chocolate ones. "Oh don't worry Lenne. I've had lots of practice at this."

Lenne shook her head, "That's not what I meant, Yuna… You were practically frozen half an hour ago! Are you sure you're completely thawed out? I would think ice would hurt."

Yuna eye's showed fear. "It can freeze in there?"

Lenne shook her head, "I don't really know, but my milk carton froze in my refrigerator once when the temperature control went haywire."

Yuna blinked before slowly re buttoning the silky white pajama top she was borrowing. Yuna spoke softly; trying to imagine what type of pain she might had just put herself through. "Okay, I'll wait until tomorrow to do that." She had heard of the pain caused by solid objects forming in the urinary tract before. She didn't want to know what that might feel like in her breasts.

Yuna picked up the bottle and held it over her bundle of blue. Removing the cover, a blue and green eye stared back at her, mirroring her own. She smiled as her baby reached up to grab at the bottle, which was slightly strange to Yuna. She had never fed her baby bottled milk before, Lenne must have already taught her baby what came out of it.

Lenne's hand came to rest on Yuna's shoulder as she lifted the bottle to her baby's mouth. "You have a beautiful baby Yuna."

"Thanks." Yuna murmured. She was used to people saying that. She honestly had never heard anyone tell her or any other mother that they had an ugly one.

"What's his name?"

Yuna was momentarily shocked to remember that this one was a boy but soon recovered. "Superior."

Lenne raised an eyebrow. "Oh… that's a… nice name." Yuna knew her friend was thinking 'what a strange name', but she hadn't named her baby boy. She wasn't 'good enough' to do such a thing according to HIM.

Awkward silence engulfed the two. Yuna knew what her friend was waiting for. Lenne had told her something she had never told anyone else, she would expect Yuna to do the same. To tell her story.

Yuna sighed. She wanted to go to sleep, but she knew her friend wanted to hear every last detail. Unfortunately, Yuna could actually tell every last detail. The past years were burned into her memory, forever to haunt her nightmares. She could recall every minute she had been tortured. Every time she had been slapped, cut, or just plain torn open. She remembered pleading, begging for mercy, only to receive none. And when her baby had been born, she remembered praying to Yevon her baby wouldn't witness the horrors she lived through. Those prayers went unanswered and could now never be answered.

No, Yuna wasn't ready to tell her story, but she would tell her friend something, maybe just a little bit of it, a vague summary to quell her inquiring mind.

Yuna took a deep breath as she prepared herself. Even what little she was prepared to tell her friend, felt like daggers slipping out of her throat. It was painful, it was shameful, it was who she had become.

Through all of this, Lenne had taken a seat next to Yuna, quietly waiting for the story to begin. She probably didn't know how horrible it was. How horrible life could be.

Yuna began her abbreviated version, the version that hid everything it could from plain sight.

"I… I went with him… like I said I was going to…"

Yuna knew Lenne didn't need her to specifically say who HE was, nor where she went with HIM. After all, Lenne had been the one pleading with her not to go, to see the truth in the lies. Yuna had ignored Lenne's warnings and went anyway. That's what made them so different now. Yuna hadn't trusted Lenne.

"I… I'm sorry I didn't listen to you…"

Lenne nodded in forgiveness and smiled, probably trying to encourage Yuna to continue.

"I… I learned pretty quickly that he had lied… The same night I think… But… I couldn't come back… to… face everyone…"

Lenne's smile had disappeared. Yuna noticed. Her friend had realized how serious it was.

"I… It… It didn't matter anyway… He locked me inside the room. He… didn't love me…"

Yuna looked up from her tale through tear stained eyes, it was an admission she had admitted to herself only recently, but ever since she had, it was easier to see how wrong she was. She almost wished she could go back to her life of ignorance, except, that meant going back to HIM.

"He… He said… He'd be with me… always… But… he was never there… except at night… when he wanted to use me…"

That was also a recent admission. That HE used HER. Up until she had decided to run she had always told herself he really loved her despite what he did. He had said he loved her before she decided to move in with him, but never again once she had. When she told herself he loved her, he couldn't have been using her, he must have been showing his love the only way he knew how… roughly. But with the admission that he didn't love her came the realization that she had been used, she had been played, she had been trapped, and she had willingly walked into the trap, and snapped it shut upon herself. The entire time her friends, mostly the one sitting next to her now, grasping her hand to show support, had told her she was being foolish. Oh how foolish she had been.

Would all of her teachers from grade school retract their comment, that she was the brightest student they had ever met? Yuna sure would.

"It… it hurt… the first time… moreso than you told me… and… it never stopped hurting…"

Yuna was sure she'd never want to be with another man in her life. Nothing would ever replace her newly gained knowledge of what men would do to her. She would now look at a cute boy, and see through it. He may look cute on the outside, but that only meant he was ugly on the inside. He might smile at her now that she wasn't his, but once she was, his fists would fly, and she'd be the destination. He would say he loved her and wanted more than just sex, until she gave in and let him take her, then he'd never let go, even when she begged to be free.

"I… I didn't know what to do… I couldn't leave… I couldn't contact anyone… He kept me locked in that room until I became pregnant and gave birth…"

Yuna paused. This wasn't working. Even the abbreviated version was too painful to get through. She couldn't think of a way around it… her baby…

Lenne was in tears as well. Yuna noticed this and smiled through her tears. She didn't mean to make her friend cry, but maybe she didn't want to hear anymore either. Maybe she could stop and just forget the last many years of her life.

No, she could never forget, but she could try to move on. She would have to become stronger. She would surely see him again someday. She would have to be ready. Or maybe she should just hide. Run far, far away to the corners of Spira where he would never find her. She didn't know if he was looking for her, but she had just kidnapped his baby boy.

Yuna reached out to touch her friend's heaving bare shoulder. It was so soft to the touch, nothing like Yuna's. Yuna's was a messy bundle of scars and bruises. Some that may never go away.

"Maybe… maybe that's enough for today…"

Her friend looked up at her. Apparently she hadn't even realized Yuna had stopped talking. She sniffled before protesting. "No, no, I'm okay… You need to get this out Yuna."

Yuna merely shook her head. "No, I already know I can't tell you everything yet… Please don't be mad at me… I'm… just not ready yet…" Yuna glanced down at her baby in her arms. He was asleep now, hugging the baby bottle. He was oblivious to the desperation his mother had just gone through, and Yuna hoped, he had been oblivious to the freezing cold she had ran through to get here.

Lenne nodded in understanding, much to Yuna's relief. "I… I guess I didn't know how bad it could have been on you… I'm sorry for treating it like our old crushes… our old girls nights out…"

Yuna smiled at her still sobbing friend. Yuna herself had stopped crying a while ago. True, it had happened to her; but remembering she still had this baby in her lap made her feel better. "It's okay Lenne, it's not that I don't want to tell you, I really do. It's just… it's too vivid still. I can remember everything, everything too clearly… as if I'm reliving it."

Lenne nodded and rose from her seat. "Don't worry, I won't pressure you anymore, you'll tell me when you're truly ready. Maybe, maybe then you'll feel better." Lenne gave Yuna a quick hug before turning towards the door leading to the hallway before calling over her shoulder. "You can take my parent's old bedroom. I still sleep in my room."

Yuna nodded as she began to rewrap her baby boy back into his blue bundle. It was just like Lenne to cling to her memories, to wanting to preserve her childhood. It was probably that very reason why Yuna was lucky that Lenne still lived in her parent's house after all these years… although… it appeared that her parents weren't with them anymore.

Lenne called back one more time before heading through the door. "And Yuna, I'm really glad you're back, I don't know what you went through, I mean, I now know it was traumatizing, but I don't really know what it was, but I know you're safe again. And… don't beat yourself up about it Yuna… He almost had me convinced too."

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**AN. So it was still a short chapter, but scenes can only go on for so long before they become boring. Be sure to let me know what kind of questions are popping up. There's actually one question in particular I'm interested in seeing if I've actually forced into your head… of course, it might just be plain obvious and I'm just disillusioned or you might have thought it was plain obvious but got it wrong… The latter group will be surprised, that is assuming the question has even popped into people's minds. In my mind it's plain obvious, but I'm writing it so it should be pretty obvious to me.**

**And when you're writing questions, remember what you're grade school teachers told you, there are no stupid questions… except when they make no sense, or require a stupid answer, or are just stupid… Okay, there are stupid questions but ask them anyways; it's called screen names for a reason.**

**Oh… and… I… think… I… went… a… bit… overboard… with… ellipses… but… oh… well…**


	4. Home

**Updated: 2010.01.31**

**Disclaimer: I don't own enough for you to sue me.**

**AN. Thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed with questions you've come up with for the story, it definitely helps me think about what the story is going through and whether I'm coming across clear enough.**

**That said, there was one thing from the last chapter everyone missed or at least nobody had a question about, to be fair, it was very well hidden. It will be hinted at more until it's eventually revealed sometime later. I personally think it's one of the worst things possible and will probably be the last bit of information Yuna reveals about her time before this, besides who HE is, as you've all pin-pointed the big question.**

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**Home**

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The girl sat in the comfortable seat of the limo. The interior was pristine. It was dark in there, but nowhere near as dark as her life was just the other day, the other night. She wished she could go back and finish what had happened, but she couldn't go back. That would mean going back to HIM. That would mean the running, the freezing, and the torture of the previous night to have been worthless. That would mean getting this baby away would have been for naught.

She would mourn later, but not here, not in the presence of her friend. Her friend didn't need that, not before she went to see the man she loved. Her friend had been a mess that morning; running all over the house, looking for clothes, makeup, and her notes to present. The girl was sure the last thing on her friend's busy conscious was what truly triggered the girl's plight, the girl's flight, in the middle of the night, in nothing but a nightgown, in the rain, when the temperature was below freezing. In truth, the girl hadn't had time to check the temperature, nor the weather, nor time to put on shoes. It was flight or fight, and she knew she couldn't fight.

A cooing noise brought the girl out of her dark memories. She glanced down and smiled at her blue bundle, except, it wasn't a blue bundle anymore, now it was a purple bundle. Her friend had given her a new blanket to wrap around her baby while the blue one was being cleaned from last night's events.

The color hurt the girl. True, she didn't like having her baby boy wrapped in such a feminine color, but there was another reason. Of course, the girl couldn't refuse her friend's charity, her baby needed to be wrapped in something, and her friend's favorite color was purple, so it came as no surprise that she had plenty of extra purple blankets.

"I think he wants milk, Yuna." Her friend's soothing voice chimed from across the limo.

Yuna glanced down at her baby, his tiny arms were reaching up towards her, grasping at that which was out of reach.

Yuna sighed as she unbuttoned the top of the purple blouse her friend had let her borrow and lifted her purple bundle to her breast. 'Out of reach', that described everything for her now. And, sadly, 'out of reach' described most of her baby boy's opportunities as well. He was her son, but he was also HIS son. HE was famous, and the people of Spira would always side with HIM over her.

Yuna shivered at the thought despite the warm air blowing through the air vents. If he wanted, she would be forced back into his home, into his room, into his bed. Her only hope was that he didn't want her anymore. If she was caught, she would never see the light of day again, that is, if she was even permitted to see the void of night. She had obtained what little freedom she had, the freedom she had used to escape, because she bore him a child.

She had screamed in agony, she had cried, she had been forced to go through labor alone. He wasn't by her side, a trained doctor wasn't by her side, a nurse wasn't by her side, not even a lowly midwife. She had gone through it alone. She had pushed with all of her might when she thought she should, luckily it seemed to be the right time because the baby did come out. But what hurt the most, was when she had to tear the umbilical cord that attached herself to her baby's bellybutton, with her own teeth, right after giving birth.

"Ow!" Yuna felt something hard bite down on her left nipple.

Yuna glanced down at her purple bundle as her friend glanced up from reading her notes. Superior was smiling up at her as he continued to suck on her breast.

"That's not funny! That hurts!" Yuna reprimanded her baby boy; of course, the baby boy didn't understand a word she said. Superior gurgled as he continued to suck on his mother's breast.

Yuna rolled her eyes before glancing at her friend who had returned to reading her notes. "What are you reading Lenne?"

Lenne's chocolate colored eyes were hard to make out in the dim light of the limo, but the kindness that radiated off of them was still easy to see. "It's just a few songs I've been writing, I was going to run them by him and see what he thought before I took them to the recording studio. He might have some music that would fit with them too."

Yuna nodded, from what little she had heard about him, she had come to the conclusion that Lenne was as deeply infatuated with him and his opinion of her as Yuna had been with her tormentor, of course, before he became her tormentor. Yuna was slightly worried for her friend.

Lenne hadn't spoken any more about the man, but Yuna was able to see the hints, as Lenne got ready for this meeting. She had put on what Yuna would consider her best clothes, her most enticing clothes. A purple, with white ruffles, midriff-baring vest gave way to a white ruffled sheet that fell over the top part of her left leg. Underneath the ruffled sheet was a black mini skirt with black lace along the bottom and purple ruffled arm warmers over her forearms, tied at the wrists and up her biceps with black silk string. Brown knee-high boots finished off her ensemble.

Yuna had balked when Lenne had wanted her to dress similarly. Yuna used to dress like that. Back in high school, she and Lenne had worn identical outfits most of the time. Wearing those types of clothes was what enticed HIM to both of them. Yuna was the only one to feel special about the attention though.

Yuna had carefully maneuvered Lenne into offering her something else to wear. Never again would she wear something that would attract men, attract pain. Eventually, Lenne had given up and let Yuna wear her purple blouse, a pair of blue jeans, and black knee-high boots. Yuna wasn't sure how well all the colors went together but if she looked like a color-blind freak, she would be happy. It would keep men away from her.

The only piece of 'enticement' Lenne had been able to convince Yuna to wear was their friendship earring. Yuna had left it with Lenne when she had left with him. She had promised that she would return for it after she was married, while Lenne protested that she shouldn't have to leave it in the first place.

Yuna frowned, she had returned for it, just under much different conditions than she had envisioned, and after a much longer duration. She still wasn't married, all these years later. She was actually surprised Lenne kept it this entire time.

Yuna ran her fingers over the earring; there was only one. It was long; the wispy blue frayed string at the end tickled her shoulder whenever she moved her head. Yuna remembered when she and Lenne had made each other's earrings. It was strange how they both thought back then, so different yet still best friends. Yuna had chosen to make a long string of yellow and white beads, trying to match Lenne's hair and skin tone. Lenne on the other hand had chosen to use blue and yellow beads over a blue string, trying to make it stand out like Yuna's bi-colored eyes.

Upon receiving her earring back from her friend, Yuna realized she had been the only one of them to ever take it off. If anything, she had been the one to forsake their friendship. Lenne had worn her friendship earring throughout Yuna's long absence, while Yuna had left the one Lenne had made her behind while she went to hell.

Never again would Yuna take it off. Yuna would wear hers forever after, just like how she would listen to her best friend forever after.

Yuna stared out the tinted windows of the limo. The sun was shining out there, yet she knew, even if she was out there, she would be gloomy.

She watched as kids played in a park, friends playing with friends. Everyone seemed to have so many friends.

Yuna glanced back at Lenne. Yuna felt compelled to interrupt her friend's silent mouthing of the lyrics she had written in her lap.

"Lenne…"

The brunette immediately looked up at Yuna, waiting for her to continue.

"What… What happened to everyone else?"

The moment Yuna noticed Lenne's frown was the moment she regretted asking.

"They… weren't really my friends Yuna." Lenne spoke softly. It was true, they had laughed at Lenne whenever she voiced her dream to become a famous singer, calling her a hopeless dreamer. "They, stopped talking to me completely after you left."

"Oh." Yuna couldn't say much else; she had never known her own mistake could hurt her best friend too.

Yuna could tell she had depressed her friend's mood as Lenne simply sat in her seat staring at the elegant carpet covering the bottom of the limo instead of returning to her notes.

Yuna bit back a sigh; she hadn't meant to bring pain into her friend's life, especially not now, right before they met with her manager. "Lenne, how about you tell me some more about… Shuyin was it?"

The question worked. Lenne immediately brightened at the opportunity.

"Well, he has these dreamy grey-blue eyes that I can just get lost in forever!"

Yuna swallowed the spit in her throat. She had said those exact same words before her life changed dramatically, everything, down to the 'grey-blue' eyes.

"He's really nice and gentleman-like!"

Yuna had heard those words as well, right from her own mouth.

"He enjoys watching blitzball and he said he used to be really good at it, I can tell he's telling the truth because his body is amazing!"

A fear crept into Yuna. She didn't want to rain on her best friend's parade, but Shuyin sounded just like HIM, and Lenne was sounding just like Yuna. Should she grab her friend and run to keep her from the horrors she had experienced, or should she give Shuyin and Lenne the benefit of the doubt and see how things played out?

"He told me he actually doesn't make much money… But that's because he tries to take as little commission as possible so that the new artists that he helps won't need a second job and can focus on what they enjoy… Actually, I think he lost money by helping me despite my high CD sales."

Okay, Yuna had to admit she had never heard herself say those things about HIM. HE had never cared about the fine arts, but he HAD convinced her that he was a philanthropist. Yuna still wasn't sure if he was actually a philanthropist or not, even after living with him for so many years. It wasn't Yuna's fault; she was chained to a bed for most of those years.

"Um… I don't really know what else to say other than he's simply the most amazing man I've ever met! Yuna, you're going to love him!"

Yuna was nodding slowly, she was nervous beyond belief now. Shuyin sounded like HIM. What if Shuyin WAS him? Yuna had 'loved' HIM before she had gone with him. Was Shuyin the same?

"Lenne, is it really a good thing if I love him?"

Lenne's endless banter of how amazing Shuyin was ceased as she eyed Yuna suspiciously, "You aren't thinking about stealing him from me… are you?"

Yuna quickly shook her head, "No, no, no… it's just… the last guy I thought I loved…" Yuna trailed off.

Lenne immediately understood what Yuna was getting at. "Oh no Yuna, he's nothing like HIM. Trust me! Remember, I was the one who saw through HIS façade. Shuyin isn't putting up a façade. He's just really, really nice!"

Yuna nodded. Well, Lenne at least knew what HE looked like, so Shuyin was definitely NOT him.

The two girls fell into silence, Yuna partially scared to meet Shuyin now, Lenne silently ecstatic to be seeing Shuyin again. The only sound in the limo was the sound of Superior sucking at Yuna's tits.

The silence became even more deafening as the engine shut off, but was broken when Lenne glanced out the window.

"We're here!"

Yuna glanced outside and was amazed at what she saw. A relatively large white house situated in a relatively wealthy neighborhood. The neighborhood looked vaguely familiar to Yuna. She brushed the thought aside though to think of a more sarcastic one; and Lenne had said he was NOT well-off.

Both girls carefully exited the limo after their driver opened the sole door. That was when Yuna truly got a good look at the house, or namely the mailbox. That address…

'422'

She remembered it from somewhere. It came from her childhood, the part she lost early in life.

Before Yuna could complete her thought, her friend spoke up again cheerfully.

"Yup Yuna! Welcome home! Shuyin bought your old house!"

-

-

**AN. Another short chapter, this one I was really stretching, and is the reason why I think most scenes/chapters will be short… otherwise I might just do multiple scenes like I normally do for my other stories. At first I had intended this scene to be where they meet Shuyin, but I felt I could throw this one in first.**

**Just a reminder, more questions are greatly appreciated. Feel free to guess at answers to your own questions and if you want you can give me some clue as to what parts led you to ask the question or come to your conclusions.**

**Another reminder, as I said at the top, there's been some very vague hints (I guess they were vague last chapter because nobody had a question about it) dropped about something else that happened to Yuna.**


	5. Shuyin

**Updated: 2010.09.12**

**Disclaimer: I don't own enough for you to sue me.**

**AN. Thank the fact that there's next to no new Tuna stories on FFX and FFX-2, and no new Squinoa stories on FFVIII, and no new Cloti stories on FFVII, and I'm taking a breather from SCII, and I'm taking a breather from WOW, and I decided to work on this story instead of one of the other seventy stories I've started on my computer…**

**FYI, I'm horrible about finishing stories. Most of the ones on my computer have a single chapter. Albeit all of their chapters are longer than these... especially longer than this one.**

**Shuyin**

The door opened and the girls looked up to see a young man standing there.

One of the girls broke out into a run to hug the young man, the other stood rooted to her spot by the mailbox.

The man briefly flashed the girl by the mailbox a smile before he grinned down at the girl with her head buried in his chest. "Geez Lenne, you make it seem like you haven't seen me all year."

Lenne glanced up at the beautiful young man's face and grinned mischievously. "Shuyin, you can't blame me for missing you! It's been a whole week! You're my favorite boy toy!"

The girl by the mailbox shuffled uncomfortably as the couple continued to playfully tease each other. The smile the young man had shot her way brought her subconscious nightmares back to life. She remembered those dangerous smiles, those dangerous looks. She had fallen victim to another man's dangerous smiles so many years ago.

"Yuna!"

The girl was brought out of her musings as Lenne called out to her, finally remembering she had brought Yuna with her to meet Shuyin.

"This is Shuyin, isn't he adorable!" Lenne gushed as she waved her arms around as if to display her companion as one would a vintage car.

Yuna swallowed the lump in her throat as she approached the pair, purple bundle in her arms. The young man seemed nice, but so did HE. The young man did indeed look adorable, but Yuna wasn't going to fall for that trick ever again.

Once Yuna had reached the doorway where Lenne and Shuyin stood, she simply nodded at Shuyin before giving Lenne a weak smile. She didn't want to appear rude, but she couldn't trust this man. She would let Lenne and Shuyin have fun together, but if she ever sensed a inkling that Shuyin was like HIM, she would summon all of her power to rescue Lenne. Unfortunately, Yuna had to admit, she didn't have any power to speak of. She didn't even have a home anymore, as apparently Shuyin owned her parents' old house where she used to live.

Lenne didn't seem to notice, or simply chose to overlook, Yuna's guarded response to meeting Shuyin and decided to pick up the conversation that had fallen through once Yuna decided to remain mute. "Shuyin was telling me about this music convention that was happening tomorrow and asked if we'd like to accompany him. I told him we would, I hope you don't mind."

Yuna looked up at Lenne in surprise. She had volunteered her to go without even asking her. Yuna's distress abated quickly however as she realized Lenne was doing exactly as she had promised, acting as they always had so many years ago, as she waited for Yuna to be ready. She was trying to give Yuna a sense of normalcy, and by normalcy, it meant Lenne pulling Yuna into random events, without her permission.

Yuna glanced down at her sleeping purple bundle. It wasn't like she had plans to do something else tomorrow. "Okay."

Lenne turned to look at the young man beside her yet her voice was obviously loud enough so Yuna could hear. "And… we get to meet Shuyin's brother!"

Yuna didn't know why that was so special. She assumed it was because Lenne was excited to meet Shuyin's family. Yuna didn't get why she was being included in all of this though.

"And…" Lenne continued while Yuna couldn't help but smile at her friend's excitement while also shaking her head as she questioned just how many events were the two of them able to talk about before they noticed her by the mailbox. "Shuyin has given you and me permission to sleep here tonight!"

Yuna's eyes widened in horror. This was too much like before. A cute boy. A dangerous smile. A four letter word. Moving in.

Yuna closed her eyes as she felt dizzy. She knew what came next. Humiliation. Torture. Imprisonment. Another four letter word, rape. And something even worse than rape.

"Yuna, are you okay?" Lenne's voice called out to Yuna and seemed to steady the traumatized girl.

Yuna felt a hand reach out to her shoulder and she opened her eyes. She still felt dizzy, but with Lenne's voice in her mind, and Lenne's hand on her shoulder, Yuna at least felt as if she wasn't about to topple over. Yuna glanced down at her bundle in her arms. It's a good thing she wasn't about to fall.

Yuna nodded towards her friend to assure her she wasn't about to pass out.

Lenne continued to eye Yuna wearily, and her hand never left Yuna's shoulder, but she didn't continue to speak to Shuyin.

"So, when's your brother coming over tomorrow?"

Shuyin chuckled. "Probably as soon as our father gets to his place. He hates our father with a passion. Makes me think the only reason he comes to visit me is when our father goes to visit him."

Yuna's eyes didn't widen this time, but her legs almost gave out. His brother hates his father. HE hates his father. She knew Shuyin wasn't HIM. But what if his brother was HIM?

Yuna hadn't known HE had a brother. Then again, Yuna reasoned, she didn't really know anything about him. Everything she thought HE was, was a lie. It was all a mirage to get her into his house, into his bed, into his chains. Chains that she was supposed to never escape from. Yet she had, and she had no intention of ever going back to him.

Yuna fidgeted uneasily. She didn't want to meet Shuyin's brother. She didn't want to meet anyone anymore. She wanted to return to Lenne's house and raise her purple bundle away from what happened that last night. No, she couldn't think of that right now. Then she would break down for sure.

Yuna felt a shake on her shoulder to see that both Lenne and Shuyin had a hand on her shoulders. They were peering at her worriedly.

"Is she alright?" Shuyin asked Lenne.

Lenne didn't bother to turn to look at Shuyin, she instead stepped in front of Yuna, facing her, and placed both of her hands on Yuna's shoulders, forcing Shuyin to let go. "She's had it rough lately."

Yuna tried not to scoff. That was one way to put it lightly. Yuna wouldn't have described her times in HIS care as 'rough', and she wouldn't have coined the duration as 'lately' either.

"Yuna." Lenne's voice pierced into Yuna's mind. "Do you want to lie down?"

Yuna shook her head as she hugged her sleeping purple bundle closer to her.

"Are you sure? I can watch Superior while you sleep. I promise I'll take great care of him." Lenne prodded.

Yuna sighed. She knew she was a disaster waiting to happen. Every new revelation seemed to almost send her to the floor. She was probably more of a danger to her purple bundle than HE ever was. No, Yuna corrected herself, she would at least regret it, HE probably never did.

"Okay." Yuna whispered. Another short response, another whispered answer. It was all the couple could get out of Yuna.

Lenne frowned slightly at Yuna's ambiguous answer. "Okay… as in… you'll take a nap and let me watch Superior?"

Yuna nodded and Lenne smiled.

"Alright then." Lenne turned to call over her shoulder. "Shuyin I'm going to help Yuna get settled in."

"Alright." Shuyin responded gently. He didn't have a clue what was wrong with Lenne's friend, but she seemed more like a nuisance. "You can take her to the first bedroom. You can take the second."

"Actually," Lenne began with a grin. "Why don't I put Yuna in the second room."

Shuyin cocked an eyebrow at Lenne. "But you always take the second room. It's closer to my room."

Lenne nodded. "Yes, but I felt like switching it up tonight. Not that I really use the room much anyway." Lenne brushed away Shuyin's concern over her strange behavior as she led Yuna into the house and to the bedrooms as Shuyin went to get things ready for when Lenne returned, without the nuisance.

As the two girls walked through the hallway with Lenne supporting Yuna, Lenne leaned over to Yuna. "You know why I did that, don't you?"

Yuna nodded. It was because the second bedroom was her old room. Yuna had it because it was the closest bedroom to the Master Bedroom, her parents' old room. Shuyin was in the Master Bedroom, since he was the master of the house now.

**AN. And the chapters get shorter… Yea well I'm just trying to get back into writing this thing. The long delay was partly because I got bored, got distracted with other stuff, and partly because I didn't like the last chapter too much.**

**Anyway, as before, ask questions the chapters bring up, answer questions you think the chapters answers, and try to convince me why your answers are right.**

**And one last thing… What do you think Yuna would consider 'worse than rape'? There have been hints of it in chapters 2, 3, and 4 (this one)… see if you can guess it, because it's revealed next chapter, titled, Nightmare.**


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